


Write Me Back Soon

by killerofcanon



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: 1950's AU, M/M, Night Vale is a Normal Town, Slow Burn, There's Plot Too, but like cecilos is a bonus, but not like crazy slow, mostly normal anyway, not all about the romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-16 02:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16945110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerofcanon/pseuds/killerofcanon
Summary: It's the 1950's. Cecil moved out of Night Vale as a young adult and opened up a secondhand bookstore. Now his career and his love life are lacking, so he goes back to Night Vale to stay with his sister and figure things out. Unbeknownst to him, fate has other plans... [ABANDONED]





	1. Considering

> _ Dear Abby, _
> 
> _ I’m considering closing the bookstore down for good. I haven’t had more than three customers this whole week. I have my one regular, the high schooler who always comes in and lusts over the books she can’t have, never buying anything. I feel guilty for mentally urging her to buy a book already, because I know she can’t afford it. Sometimes I wish she would go to the public library instead, even if she does bring good conversation and brightens my lonely days a little bit. I don’t want to worry you. I’m not desperately lonely, though I do wish I had some romantic company for the winter. I miss having someone to sit with by a fireplace, bundled up on a couch, both of us reading separate books and drinking tea. I know you have a hard time getting away from work, so perhaps I could come stay the holidays with you and Steve this year? It’s been awhile since I saw the city. I know you laugh at me calling Night Vale a city, but it’s bigger and far more exciting than the rural bluffs out here. I don’t want to impose, so don’t feel obliged to accept. I admit that I miss you, dear sister, however I recoil imagining your satisfaction over my saying that. Regardless, I hope all is well with you both, and Janice as well.  _
> 
> _ Love, Cecil Palmer _

Cecil put down his pen and folded the letter, then unfolded it to proofread again. He sealed it into the envelope and wrote his sister’s address as he had done so many times before, then got up from his desk to turn out the lamp. His narrow fingers slowly turned down the oil until the flame lapsed and he was left in the dark. The nights were getting chillier, and he took particular notice of this as he scurried into his bed and wrapped up in the sheets. He sighed regretfully. Recalling memories of himself as a teenager, wanting nothing more than to move out of his mother’s house and be free like his sister was. How naive young Cecil was. His first decade of living alone, with half a dozen three-to-six month periods of living with a lover, was incredible. The alone time fueled him. He had all the time in the world to read and write, to romanticise every minute facet of his alone time in between running the bookstore. Now, his body had become calloused to sleeping alone, his voice accustomed to not speaking a word at all until noon, sometimes later, depending on if he had a customer. He fell asleep thinking of all these things and more. 

Cecil’s most familiar visitor, “customer” not an appropriate descriptor for her, came through the shop’s doors around 10:30. It was a Saturday, and Cecil sat dejectedly behind the cash register, wishing he had something better to do. Talk radio played faintly in the background.

“How’s life treating you, Mr. Palmer?” She asked contently. Cecil looked up from his hands. 

“It could be better, Tamika,” He replied honestly. 

“How’s that?” Tamika asked, pulling up a stool to listen to his woes. He paused, not wanting to bring her mood down, but wanting to share his thoughts with someone. 

“This shop isn’t doing well,” He said and sighed. “I might have to close it. Sell the building. Move back to town where my sister lives.” 

“What?” Tamika gasped. “You- you can’t!” 

“I might have to,” Cecil reiterated. 

“That would- that would be awful,” She said quietly.

“Would it really be so tragic? I know you love it here, and I enjoy our talks, but- I’ve been doing this, and failing at it, for so long. When you’re young, all you want to do is get out of the town that raised you, but how do you know when it’s time to go back?” Cecil lamented. 

Tamika paused, pursed her lips, and thought about it.

“I would miss you, Mr. Palmer. I would miss the shop,” She said.

“There are other shops!” Cecil sighed indignantly. “There are other kooky old men with a handful of interesting stories to share with a youth such as yourself.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. 

“I don’t mean to bring you down, Tamika. I would miss you as well. Have you decided on what you’re going to do after you graduate?” 

“I have. I’m applying to Harvard. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do when I get there, but that’s where I want to go. I have the grades.” She smiled slightly at her own boast.

“Really?” Cecil raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize you were so studious.”

Her smile widened.

“Thank you,” She said. “I know it sounds silly for me to worry about this shop when I’m about to leave the state, but… oh, Mr. Palmer, I want this place to be here when I get back. Is there anything in your hometown that you hope is still there if you go back?” 

Cecil considered it, and a particular place came to mind. 

“I attended community college near the local radio station, and I did a short apprenticeship there for about a year. If anything, I’d love to see that station again. All those memories…” Cecil reminisced. 

“See? This shop is my radio station,” Tamika said. The talk radio that quietly echoed underneath their conversation was the only sound while they stood and sat and thought. 

> _ Dear Cecil, _
> 
> _ I’d love for you to come stay with us. Don’t wait for the holidays- come as soon as you can pull yourself away from the shop. We’d all love to have you back in Night Vale. You won’t believe how much progress Janice has made, even after reading about it in my letters, I know seeing it in person will blow you away.  _
> 
> _ I know I say this every time, but I wish you would purchase a telephone already. I know you have a fetish for the written word, but Cecil- it might be time to realize what decade you’re living in. It’s 1954, in case you’ve forgotten yourself completely. It’s the future! Embrace it. Whatever happened to your obsession with radio from your college days? We’ll have to drive by the community college, and the radio station while you’re here. Anyway, I’ll see you shortly. I can’t hardly wait for you to see how Night Vale has changed in the decades you’ve been gone.  _
> 
> _ With love, Abby _

As soon as Cecil finished reading the letter of reply from his sister, he started packing a bag. As many of his favorite shirts and slacks as he could fit, and his most well-worn jackets as well. Socks, shoes, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, et cetera. As much as he could fit, for he suspected he would be gone for some time. 

A few days later, while he still anticipated himself leaving, Tamika entered the shop. 

“Tamika, just the woman I wanted to see,” Cecil said intently when she came inside from the cold.

“Oh?” Tamika said, confused. 

“I know your winter break from school is about to start,” Cecil said. 

“It is…”

“And I’m about to go out of town for a few weeks. Perhaps more, I don’t yet know for certain. Even though I might be closing the shop, it would be nice to get one last holiday season worth of sales. If you have the time and wouldn’t mind at all, I would be incredibly grateful if you could run the shop for me while I’m gone,” Cecil explained long-windedly.

“I would love that!” Tamika all but shrieked.

“Ah, I’m so glad,” Cecil sighed a breath of relief. Another week later, he was ready to go, and explaining what needed to be done to Tamika. Her face held an excited grin and she listened, enraptured by his instruction so she could do  this job perfectly.

“The typical hours are 10-6, Tuesday-Saturday, as you know. Stick to these times as best you can, but read as much as you’d like while business is slow, listen to my radio, whatever keeps you entertained. If I’m not back before you go back to school, you can open the shop on the afternoons during the week. There’s no obligation to keep working once the holidays are over, but you may. Write down all the hours you work, and I’ll compensate you when I come back. I’m keeping my upstairs apartment locked, but here is the key to the storefront-” Cecil handed her the key. He patted his pockets. “Am I forgetting anything?” 

“Do I need your sister’s phone number in case?”

“I don’t know her number and there isn’t a phone in this building. I will write down her address, so write me a letter to update me on anything. There. I do believe that’s everything…?” Cecil finished, wracking his brain for anything that he might be forgetting. He was getting frantic thinking about leaving the shop, even though he trusted Tamika. He was frantic thinking about seeing Abby. 

“I think that’s it,” Tamika agreed.

“Perfect. I’m going to miss my train. Tamika, I can’t thank you enough,” Cecil graciously thanked her and bolted out the door, tugging his hat over his head and clutching his suitcase. 


	2. They Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecil gets reintroduced to his town.

Cecil nervously tapped his foot on the brick of Abby’s front porch, staring at her worn in welcome mat. Even in that way, one could tell who the more social sibling was. It was strange to be back. He wasn’t sure Night Vale wanted him back. The door swung open and Cecil’s nerves boiled.

“Cecil!” Abby cheered, pulling him in for a hug. He tried his best to hug back while still holding all his things. 

“Is he here?” A raspy male voice called and came around into view. 

“Steve. Good to see you,” Cecil said formally. His relationship to Steve had always been strained, only recently warming up to him. Steve grinned largely and pulled him into another stiff hug.

“Good to see you too, buddy,” Steve said when he pulled back. He took Cecil’s bags from him and they walked inside.

“This is a beautiful home,” Cecil complimented, slipping off his jacket. Holiday decorations sat on every available surface. Photos and art spotted every wall. The entire house smelled of nutmeg. 

“Thank you,” Abby said. They looked at each other awkwardly. Abby broke the silence. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”

“Me neither,” Cecil agreed. There was another awkward silence.

“Lord, Cecil, how have you been?” She asked, intentionally avoiding mention of his shop.

“I’ve been doing well,” Cecil said, choosing the polite answer for now and saving his candor for later. 

“Who’s this?” Asked a young woman as she came down the stairs, arm held gently by Steve. Cecil instantly recognized his niece, who he had last seen as a seven or eight year old, and who was now at least fifteen. He came up to her.

“Do you remember me? Your Uncle Cecil?” He asked.

“Oh, Uncle Cecil!” Janice’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Sorry, it’s been so long.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” He said regretfully. He looked at her up and down, how grown she was. The last time he had seen her she hadn’t been able to move without her wheelchair, but now she was using crutches. He smiled proudly. 

The four of them spent some time together in the family room, and Cecil’s heart started to feel a little less empty. 

“Can we go for a walk?” Abby asked. Cecil nodded and they bundled up before heading out and down the street.

“Janice is beautiful,” Cecil said warmly. “She takes after you.”

“I know,” Abby agreed on both counts. “I see Steve in her, too. She’s a good mixture of us.”

“That she is,” Cecil said with a nod. 

“I’ve been wanting to ask how things are considering… well, your dating life. Have you met anyone new?”

“No. I’ve all but given up on that,” Cecil admitted depressedly. 

“Do you think you could have better luck in Night Vale? You might have more in common with the people here, and everyone’s so… accepting… of other lifestyles,” She advised.

“Perhaps I’ll meet someone, but why try? I don’t want to rush into something again, and I’m far too old for flings,” Cecil complained. 

“Don’t give up on hope so easy, Cecil.”

“Easy?”

“I don’t mean-”

“My last relationships have been crushing. Have you already forgotten Kevin? My bruises may have healed months ago, but I still have nightmares that he’s back in my life. How am I ever supposed to love someone again after that?” Cecil ranted, shuddering at horrible memories. 

“I’m sorry, Cecil. I did forget. You wouldn’t come see me after things ended, so I never knew the full story.”

“You knew enough to know why I haven’t been searching for  _ love _ .” He almost spat the word “love”. 

“I’m sorry,” Abby assured him. “But I think you should give people another chance. Not everyone is like he was.”

Cecil shook his head and stared down at the cracks in the sidewalk as they passed under his feet. 

“But anyone could be.”

Cecil lied awake in the unfamiliar bed that rested in the Carlsbergs’ guest bedroom. He twisted under the quilt under sleep won out.

The family had made plans to go by the community college and radio station the next day. Cecil got up and had a compulsion within himself to put on his best, most dapper day vest. He walked down the stairs into the kitchen to the smell of pancakes. 

“Uncle Cecil! You look fancy,” Janice announced when he stepped into view.

“Thank you,” Cecil smiled. They all ate pancakes before taking to the sidewalk outside. 

**Author's Note:**

> next chapter coming next week :)


End file.
